Fraternity and sorority recruitment invites undergrads to join for fun and so much more

Campus explodes with excitement this week as curious students get a taste of what FIU’s 42 fraternities and sororities have to offer. Every day, members will be mingling in the Graham Center and outside of Tamiami Hall at MMC as well as at BBC and online to talk up the benefits of joining. 

“During college, you’re trying to figure out what you want to do with your life, who you are, all this stuff,” says Miguel Sobera, a proud brother of Pi Kappa Alpha. “Greek life just opens up a lot of avenues when it comes to leadership and developing yourself as a human going into the real world.”

The sophomore hospitality major credits membership with expanding both his social circle and opportunities for growth. His brothers are the friends he can hang with at a moment’s notice, he says, who encourage him to put himself out there even as he helps shyer guys break free of their shells.

And the roles that have come his way – from positions within his 90-member frat to, currently, president of the governing body that represents 14 fraternity chapters at FIU – have prepped him for future success by teaching him to interact with all kinds of people and to prioritize service to others. “You just learn how to be a better human,” he says.

UNIVERSITY SUPPORT

FIU has invested in fraternity and sorority life in recent years precisely because of its proven potential to enhance students’ experience on campus and get them ready for bigger things ahead, says Stephen Dominy, a lifelong Alpha Tau Omega who leads efforts to strengthen Greek life.

“A lot of students are trying to find what’s going to plug them into FIU,” Dominy says. People are looking to be part of something bigger than themselves, he explains, and going Greek can get them there. “It’s about finding a network of people,” he explains, “my study group, my friend group, my I-want-to-do-activities-with group, my I-want-to-do-community-service group.”

Students choose a particular sorority or fraternity for any number of reasons. Some join because their existing friends and roommates already belong, others are drawn to ones that focus on a particular academic discipline or interest– such as Theta Tau fraternity and Phi Sigma Rho sorority (engineering), Sigma Alpha Iota sorority and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity (music) and Phi Delta Epsilon fraternity (premed) – or because of members’ shared cultural background, such as Hispanic heritage (Lambda Theta Alpha fraternity) and Asian heritage (LUMI, an “interest group” on its way to becoming a sorority chapter).

Recognizing the positive power of Greek organizations on both the individual and the greater community, FIU last fall opened the Center for Fraternity and Sorority Enrichment. The first of its kind on a Florida campus, the center emphasizes leadership training and career readiness. It provides support to chapters and their governing councils and offers members personal-development workshops and other programming on topics such as mental health promotion and drug and alcohol abuse prevention.

ENGAGEMENT

Comprising just under 4% of FIU’s undergraduate population – approximately 1,500 individuals - Greeks exert an outsized influence on campus as they participate disproportionately in a variety of activities and organizations across the university.  

The majority of students involved in the student government, for example, come from the ranks of Greek organizations.

“If I had not taken that step as a freshman to join a sorority, I would not be where I am today,” says current SGA president Francesca Casanova, a civil engineering major and member of Alpha Xi Delta. (Separately, she also serves as president of the governing body for seven FIU sorority chapters.)

The backing of her sisters during an intense spring election campaign contributed to her triumph. But, as she explains, the real benefit of membership lay in a culture that has peers encouraging one another to always reach higher.

“A big part of it is that there are people around you that are pushing you, who say, ‘Hey try this,” the senior explains. “It’s just building people up and making each other better because, the way that I look at, if everyone’s doing well and, we’re a community, then we’re all doing well. If one person’s succeeding, then we’re all succeeding.”

Casanova also points to an administrative structure within chapters that invites just about anyone to take a leadership role. That typically includes dozens of positions – such as the sports chair and the philanthropy chair, for example – that give new recruits a chance to make their mark before accepting greater responsibility on a chapter’s executive board. “The beauty of Greek life,” she says, “is there is so much capacity to grow.”

FELLOWSHIP

Sophomore Pedro Ocasio became a brother of Tau Kappa Epsilon at the end of his freshman year. The political science major with a goal to attend law school jumped at the chance to join a fraternitiy that boasts one of the highest GPAs among the Greeks at FIU. “We’re smart and we have the stats to back it up,” he states.

To maintain grades, the guys encourage one another in their studies, often hitting the books together during the schoolyear and reserving rooms in the library for group study come finals week. “They’ll help me out,” he says of his bros. “They’ll quiz me, ask me questions. They’re always just there for support.”

The emphasis on academics complements the social interaction. Ocasio in the spring served as coach of the flag football team his fraternity fielded for a tournament hosted by the Alpha Xi Delta sorority. More recently, he arranged a barbecue attended by about a dozen brothers at the family home of a member. As FIU Greeks don’t have the option, or expenses, of dedicated houses in which to hold gatherings, the university provides meeting space, and groups often find campus locations, nearby parks or other venues to get together socially.

And come football season, Ocasio and his brothers will join in the classic Greek tradition of flashing school spirit at pre-game festivities and from the stands.

SERVICE AND PHILANTHROPY

Another hallmark of Greek life: looking outward into the wider community.

Greeks already figure prominently in the organizing and running of universitywide annual fundraising events such as Relay for Life, which celebrates cancer survivors and caregivers, and the Roarthon dance marathon, which supports children’s hospitals. Teams fielded by fraternities and sororities are often the biggest contributors of donations. They also host drives to fill the campus food pantries and collect other types of donations for the needy.

On their own, each sorority and fraternity commits to supporting a charity as part of its mission. Members mount fun and creative fundraisers – fashion and talent shows to which spectators purchase tickets, sports tournaments for which participating teams pay a registration fee – to contribute to organizations such as the American Cancer Society, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Ronald MacDonald House.

During the 2023-2024 schoolyear, the students collectively brought in nearly $288,000 for their chosen causes. They also provided nearly 11,000 hours of service through a variety of local charitable organizations such as Feeding South Florida, Camilus House, Lotus House and others.

Not included in the latter figure are the hours spent in raising awareness of social issues. 

“Black philanthropy is more about awareness than money,” says senior Deja Vaughn, a sister of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and president of the governing body for FIU’s six historically Black sororities and fraternities. The orgs reach beyond campus borders by hosting neighborhood walks for suicide prevention, sexual assault prevention and mental health promotion.

FOREVER MEMBERSHIP

Connection to one’s fraternity or sorority does not end with graduation. Alumni stay in touch through formal channels that keep alive their own relationships while giving an important boost to current students and frequently even helping new grads land jobs.

“It's a brotherhood for life,” says Nicholas Recuset ’15. The political consultant joined Sigma Chi as a sophomore and today remains active within the chapter alumni group. Members meet for social events such as outings to Marlins baseball games and happy hours at local bars. More recently, they together contributed $14,000 to FIU in support of scholarships for first-generation students.

On campus, alumni typically work closely with the undergraduates. In the case of Sigma Chi, Recuset serves as an advisor to the student executive board of the FIU chapter and regularly attends its monthly meetings. This week, he and some of the other alumni will be at MMC for a dinner at which they will address current student members as well as make a push to those considering joining. His remarks will stress that what they build together continues to have value even after their college days end.

“I hear all the time, Greek life isn’t for everybody, but I disagree completely. I just think it’s a matter of finding the right organization and really investing time into that organization,” he says. “It's having that mindset that this is the organization that I’m going to be a part of for the rest of my life.”

Looking forward to meeting up with the guys, Recuset makes clear he sees a new era emerging at the university. “I’m really excited for Greek life in general at FIU,” he says. “I haven’t seen this amount of support and rallying behind growing the Greek community in a long time,” he adds of FIU’s commitment of resources and the opening of its new center. “I think right now is really the best time to go Greek.”